New budget case and motherboard to start your gaming rig

As you most of you are well aware, building a gaming PC is not cheap. Even an entry-level machine can cost you over R7,000.

But, if you want the best graphics and highest frame rates, you’ve got to spend the money. Or so I have been told.

Cougar and Asus both recently released new additions to their hardware range, which might help alleviate the financial burden on those looking to upgrade (or join the ranks of the Master Race).

First up is the gaming case from Cougar, the MX300.

Retailing for just over R450 at local PC sellers, the case has support for up to seven fans (2 front 120mm, 2 top 120mm, 1 rear 120mm, and 2 side 120mm), space for three 3.5″ HDDs and and three 2.5″ SSDs, and air filters on the top and bottom to combat dust.

Cougar is punting the case’s roomy interior as one of its strong points, promising space for easy routing and hiding of cables, along with better airflow.

Cougar MX300

If the case is the body of the PC, then the motherboard is the central nervous system/skeleton and muscles. Holding all the components together, and allowing them to communicate with one another.

Asus, which normally brands its gaming gear with the ROG moniker, has unveiled its B85M-Gamer motherboard which is selling in the States for $120 (±R1,390).

The board features four SATA 6Gbps ports, two SATA 3GBps ports, one PCI express 3.0 x16 slot, four USB 3.0 ports, and support for 32GB of RAM and an Intel CPU.